Merkel congratulates Tsipras, Zaev on settling name dispute

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday she had given up hope that Athens and Skopje could ever find a solution to the decades-old name dispute, before congratulating the two prime ministers for reaching a settlement.

“I would like to express my warm congratulations to the two protagonists, [Zoran] Zaev of North Macedonia and [Alexis] Tsipras of Greece for their courage,” Merkel told the Munich Security Conference.

The two premiers are to receive the Ewald Von Kleist award later on Saturday in recognition of their efforts to end the dispute.